Field of the Invention
Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to environmental monitoring and response systems and methods to be used in remote locations for enhancing operations management capabilities.
Discussion of Related Art
Currently, most monitoring solutions used in construction environments are manual. Monitoring for conditions of concern is typically performed either by observation or by use of handheld sensors with minimal logging features outside of manually recording the data. The use of the measurement methods is sporadic and the repeatability of these measurements cannot be confirmed. This data also holds little to no value to insurance companies in the case of an accident claim. For periods of time, for example, after work hours, a site may be left without any method of data measurement or monitoring. Wireless, stationary unit systems exist to measure specific variables, for example, dust particulate and dangerous gasses; however, these systems are not integrated into a seamless solution for site monitoring. Often, these systems do not provide real-time or near real-time data and do not offer immediate or near immediate alerts of ongoing conditions.
Construction companies have an interest in monitoring the environmental conditions of their worksite to reduce the occurrence of undesired conditions that are costly and lead to delays in the construction work timeline. For this reason, construction companies are moving to digitize the job site by integrating new technologies into their work routines. Some construction company personnel now use mobile devices, for example, handheld tablets or smartphones, allowing site drawing updates to be pushed to the hands of the user in real-time. This monitoring solution is designed to integrate into the currently existing use of digital solutions already being implemented on a site.
Constructions companies are further interested in streamlining compliance with regulatory agencies, maximizing attractiveness to employees and labor groups, and minimizing insurance premiums by demonstrating a greater capacity for risk mitigation. The fragmented and ad hoc nature of current monitoring solutions does not provide sufficient benefits to construction companies in these areas and stands to be improved.
There remains a need for an improved and more reliable system for monitoring and providing risk management of a remote site, for example, a construction site.